Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

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Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby Caverdale » Nov 25, 2009 2:48 pm

Yet another rescue is ongoing at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave at noon Wednesday, Nov. 25. This time a 26-year-old man with a large frame (first report of over 6 feet tall, 200 pounds) is caught in a head-down situation in the infamous "Birth Canal". Portable rock chippers are being used to enlarge the passage. He has been stuck since about 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, MST. Link:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8800398
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby BrianC » Nov 25, 2009 3:28 pm

A large frame in a 10" passage is tight when level, vert. 10" squeezes things up a bit! Hope all goes well!
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby tncaver » Nov 25, 2009 4:26 pm

Maybe the chippers should just go ahead and enlarge a bit extra so that there are no more rescues at the Birth Canal.
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Man trapped in Utah Cave

Postby graveleye » Nov 25, 2009 4:37 pm

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/search-crew-working-to-213611.html

ALT LAKE CITY — Rescuers chipped away with air-powered tools in a narrow tunnel Wednesday to free a man trapped upside down about 150 feet below ground in a popular Utah cave.

Utah County sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said John Jones, 26, of Stansbury Park, became stuck about 700 feet into the narrow cave, known as Nutty Putty, at about 9 p.m. Tuesday while spelunking with a group of about 11 people.

"There's some pushing and pulling, but if there's any movement at all, it's just millimeters at a time," Cannon said.

Jones is stuck with his head below his feet in an L-shaped area of the caveknown as "Bob's Push" that is only about 18 inches wide and 10 inches high, Cannon said.

Cannon said Jones is about six feet tall and weighs between 180 and 200 pounds.


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Re: Man trapped in Utah Cave

Postby John O. Ludwigson » Nov 25, 2009 6:00 pm

Sheesh! What do sheriffs know about getting people out of tight spots underground? Reminds me of incident many years ago near Cleveland where we had a cave rescue team standing by, but the heroic firefighters wouldn't let them rescue a kid who had essentially gotten into the very same pickle this guy in Utah is in. Lotsa room here for public education on caving safety and cave rescue.
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby Caverdale » Nov 25, 2009 6:10 pm

The local sheriff was just interviewed on TV on the 4:00 p.m. (MST) news. The man has been moved slightly, but is still stuck. He is in fair condition, considering that he has been trapped for 19 hours with his head lower than his body. In addition to S & R personnel from several county agencies, there are several local NSS cavers with the Utah Cave Search and Rescue and familiar with the cave on the scene.
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby Ronal Kerbo » Nov 25, 2009 7:53 pm

It is now reported that they have him out of the tight spot:http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_13864973
It is very funny reading the comments below the article. Especially the person who posted this: “think exploring caves so late in the evening is irresponsible. If something happened that required rescue personnel, I think the effort would be hampered a little by the lack of daylight?” So let that be a warning if you are going to get into trouble in a cave, make sure it is in the day light so the rescuers can see better!!
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby pub » Nov 25, 2009 9:40 pm

Ronal Kerbo wrote:It is now reported that they have him out of the tight spot:http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_13864973

The title of the article is: Man freed from crevice in Utah County cave, then gets stuck again
sltrib.com wrote:...a cord supporting Jones failed, causing him to slide 10 feet back into the crevice. The good news is Jones is not wedged in as far as he was when he was intially stuck, Cannon said.
A carabiner hit one rescuer in the head during the incident. The man received stitches, Cannon said...
Last edited by pub on Nov 27, 2009 4:30 am, edited 2 times in total.
Balincaguin comes from the Zambal phrase, "Bali lan caguing" meaning "house of bats."
This was the former name of the Municipality of Mabini, Pangasinan, when it was part of the Province of Zambales (of Mt. Pinatubo Volcano fame).
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby Caverdale » Nov 25, 2009 11:31 pm

The man has now been trapped for 24 hours. The latest TV news(9:00 p.m. MST) confirms the several stories that an anchor broke on the haul system and he slid back down to nearly where he was originally trapped. No word on the present progress since then. One TV video showed Andy Armstrong, a frequent poster on this forum (jaa45993) looking down the entrance hole and appearing like he was freezing his buns off. The cave entrance is smack dab on top of a hill where the wind always ALWAYS blows and the temperature must be nearly freezing. Will update at 10:00 when several other stations report if there is any progress.
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby Evan G » Nov 25, 2009 11:39 pm

Dale from what I have heard he was freed around 4 pm but your closer than I am.
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby Evan G » Nov 25, 2009 11:53 pm

The info I have was wrong, he is not out....
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Re: Man trapped in Utah Cave

Postby Evan G » Nov 26, 2009 1:21 am

I heard Andy A is out helping. Which I'm 8 hours away in Wyoming, we don't have much for NCRC in the west. Last I have heard he slipped back and is still in trouble. For those in the east the biggest cave in Wyoming is 5 hours from central Wyoming, this man is lucky he is near a populated area or he'd most likely be dead. The NSS cave of Great X is three hours from nearest large hospital.
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby ArCaver » Nov 26, 2009 6:09 am

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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby pub » Nov 26, 2009 6:20 am

...and from The Salt Lake Tribune:

Tragic ending: Stranded explorer dies in Utah County cave

Popular cave draws ill-prepared adventurers

Condolences to the family and friends...
Last edited by pub on Nov 27, 2009 4:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
Balincaguin comes from the Zambal phrase, "Bali lan caguing" meaning "house of bats."
This was the former name of the Municipality of Mabini, Pangasinan, when it was part of the Province of Zambales (of Mt. Pinatubo Volcano fame).
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Re: Another rescue in progress at Utah's Nutty Putty Cave

Postby Scott McCrea » Nov 26, 2009 9:01 am

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